The Australian Institute of Sport side travelled to a revamped Pluim Park in Lisarow on the Central Coast of NSW, and took home three points courtesy of a penalty.

In a scrappy, and lacklustre game, neither side looked like adding to the scoring, even when the Mariners (again) went down to 10 men.

For the first 15 minutes no one could get a serious attack mounted on goal, but a rash challenge in the area by a Mariners defender provided a conduit. Anthony Kalik (headed to the home side after the season) slammed the ball into the net to give the AIS the lead.

In the 26th minute an odd thing happened, that would plague the home side later. Mariners full back Jacob Esposito was carded after an AIS player had taken a tumble. Free kick it was, but the culprit wasn’t Esposito. The notebook of the Referee Assessor near me was filling.

Almost disaster for the Mariners when defender Joshua Forbes almost deflected the ball into his own net, but ‘keeper David Bradasevic’s reflex kick-out directed it wide.

In the 33rd minute AIS’s Marc Marino hit the side netting.

In the 43rd Esposito send in a cross from the right to the left, finding Patrick Dixon. The strikers snap shot however cannoned off the left upright.

6 minutes after the break Esposito again got a cross in, this time from the right and Josh Bingham rose well to head under pressure but couldn’t beat the keeper.

The game again became a midfield scrap.

With AIS pressing, the Mariners defence was scrambling. A free kick conceded appeared to lead to Esposito being yellow carded for encroachment. Given the earlier card dealing, he was then seeing red and wondering off to the change room.

In the 87th minute Dillon Vorster smashed a drive on target but it hit the face of an advancing defender, whose prone body delayed proceedings for a short respite.

Just on regular time Jordan Pudler hit a snap shot but it went straight to Bradasevic.

The loss leaves the home side rooted to the bottom of the table, with one game (away to play).